The Last Olympian Fanfic
by percabethshipper
Summary: Unfinished. Sorry. Was so disappointed with actual book I lost will to continue fanfic.
1. A Friend Pays Me a Visit

Chapter One: A Friend Pays Me a Visit

Nico had been sitting on a chair in the corner of my room only yesterday, finishing off the last blue mound of frosting from the birthday cake I'd given him. It felt like it had been years since the night of my fifteenth birthday. Between bites, he had explained what he'd been up to lately, what he'd discovered about his past, what his plan was now. Nico said that he had been down to the Underworld to see his dad, and that Daedalus was fairly happy, able to continue building highways and such in Asphodel as his punishment. After the first few topics of conversation though, we moved onto some heavier subjects.

First of all, after Nico had met with his dad, Hades explained how he had been the lawyer who told Nico and his sister to leave the Lotus hotel all those years ago. So I guess Hades wasn't as heartless and cruel as everyone accused him of being.

Second, Hades had stated that in the collapse of the Labyrinth, Kronos's army had been killed for the most part (besides, of course, the immortal gods who had joined forces with Kronos), but that with Kronos's returned power, the monsters would come quickly if they hadn't already. You know, being the Lord of Time and all, I doubt he's going to sit around waiting for his army to reform. So yeah, I feel _so-o-o_ much better about our situation now.

Then there was the final piece of information Nico had shared with me: the prophecy. Nico said that Hades had hinted that he wasn't interfering; he was just sharing a piece of godly gossip with his son. And technically _Nico_ wasn't forbidden to tell me the prophecy, just the gods and Chiron. The prophecy was this:

_A demigod child of the Big Three must_

_On his sixteenth birthday burn the bull-serpent's entrails thus_

_They will overthrow or save Olympus_

_Against or for the cause of Kronos_

_The King of Heaven's golden age_

_Lies in the power of the original Sage_

The Seven Sages, or the Seven Wise Men of Greece, were the first philosophers in the Ancient times. The legend of the Sages says that Thales of Miletus, the first Sage, was awarded the prize of wisdom, a golden tripod created by Hephaestus with a bloody history. After the next six Sages gained the tripod, it was earned by Thales again, who gave it as tribute to Apollo, "the wisest of them all". As you can imagine, Athena wasn't too happy about that (I bet Apollo loved it).

Though Thales didn't know it, he was the demigod son of Apollo and Cleobuline. Apollo had been disguised as a man named Examyes. One thing that happened that proves this is his correct prediction of an eclipse. Apparently, he inherited some Oracle from Apollo. Apollo never claimed him though, and there was some scandalous rumor that Thales was really the result of a secret romance between Athena and Apollo (of course started by Aphrodite).

And now, since apparently Thales is the key to defeating Kronos, Nico's plan is to find Thales and convince him to help us. But there's a problem: Thales has supposedly been dead for about two and a half thousand years. Our only chance of finding him depends on the theory that he can't die unless he's killed. The reason we think this is because of his belief that he wouldn't die because there was no difference between life and death (whatever that means).

So now I'm in mom's car (which I still can't drive since lessons aren't until school starts) on my way back to Camp Half-Blood. I'd sent Chiron a message this morning to tell him I was coming and he seemed kind of confused, but then I recounted Nico's visit (he got kind of fidgety and snorted quite a bit when I told him about the prophecy) and he agreed to grant me a quest.

I was wondering if my mom would finally have to tell Paul Blofis the truth to explain yet another absence, when we pulled up to Farm Road 3.141. Peleus, guardian of the Golden Fleece, examined our car minutely with narrowed slits for eyes, smoke billowing out of his nostrils in tight furls. I immediately ran up the hill. "Bye, Mom!" I yelled. Hopefully that wasn't my permanent goodbye.


	2. That Mummy Still Freaks Me Out

Chapter Two: That Mummy Still Freaks Me Out

I sprinted past the strawberry, volleyball courts and staring satyrs, my destination the Big House. As I got nearer, I saw four figures on the porch: Chiron, Mr. D, Annabeth and Grover. Chiron must have sent for them when he got the news I was coming.

"Hi, Percy," said Grover, gnawing nervously on some aluminum foil. He would probably eat the box when he was finished.

"Hey, Grover. Hey, Annabeth."

"Hi," she said quietly. I hoped she still wasn't ignoring me. I wanted to say something to her, to tell her everything, but I couldn't in front of my friends or the camp director. Grover, being empathic, looked sympathetic. I met eyes with Mr. D, knowing he was able to read my mind. His expression was strange. It was…sad, almost.

"Percy," said Chiron, so urgent he didn't bother with a greeting. I averted my gaze from Mr. D to Chiron. "I've already explained everything to Annabeth and Grover, and Mr. D of course, and Annabeth has agreed to go."

"What about Grover?" I asked.

"Well, um, Percy. I need to restore the wild places with the power Pan gave me. And it's going to be hard if we're always traveling around, to find out the best places…" he trailed off, sucking his lip where the blade of the tin foil box had cut him.

"That's okay," I said, though half-heartedly. This would be the first time I went on a quest without him. Well, except the time he got captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus, when I was trying to rescue him. "So I guess I should go see the Oracle?"

Chiron looked up, seeming very distracted. "What? Oh, yes, yes, go up…we'll wait for you here."

So I started up the stairs of the Big House, each step creaking ominously. I'd only been to the Oracle twice before, and only once had it actually spoken to me. The scarlet scarf I'd discovered on my last visit was still there among the piles of junk that demigods had collected throughout the years. Why would she have kept it? I wondered once again. To remember what we went through to get it? The Thrill Ride O' Love…ironic that my own love life (not that I have a love life or anything, that's just what Aphrodite said) would prove to be so dangerous in itself. But that's the life of a demigod for you.

I tore my eyes from the perfumed scarf to the bleached mummy, in sharp contrast with her lively dress. Eugh, she still really freaks me out, I thought, waiting for her to speak.

Almost right after I thought this, her mouth opened and a gruesome green tendril of smoke wafted out of the cavity. Her toothless, decomposing gums grossed me out almost as much as the rest of her. She went through the usual introduction then made a final request in her voice of a thousand snakes, as if Medusa's hair were speaking to me:

_"Approach, seeker and ask."_

I knew what I had to say. I wanted to ask so much more, but unfortunately, only one question was allowed. I stepped forward unwillingly, my need for knowledge more powerful than my repulsion.

"How can I find Thales of Miletus?"

The Oracle of Delphi's spirit caused the green fog to form an image of a ghostly Paul Blofis and my mom, sitting at the small kitchen table in our Upper East Side apartment. Paul opened his mouth and spoke in the Oracle's voice:

"_Two demigods and two others_

_Venture towards the Miletus of today to find Mathematics' father."_

Then Paul stopped talking, allowing my mom to say the next couplet:

"_One will be defeated, one shall abide in Asphodel_

_Either way the story ends this quest will be a legend to tell."_

Then mom and Paul were speaking simultaneously, a chorus of hissing:

"_In two tasks succeed, in one fail_

_But in the end one side will prevail."_

I didn't exactly like the sound of that prophecy, but I committed it to memory, knowing I would need it later on. I walked back down the staircase and was blinded for a moment by the bright sunlight, so varied from the dank attic where I'd just been.

"What did the Oracle say, Percy?" asked Chiron anxiously.

"Uh, she said: 'Two demigods and two others venture towards the Miletus of today to find Mathematics' father. One will be defeated, one shall abide in Asphodel—either way this story ends this quest will be a legend to tell. In two tasks succeed, in one fail but in the end one side will prevail.' And that's it. Where is 'the Miletus of today'?"

"Hmm…," said Chiron, stroking his bristly brown beard. "I'm not sure, but Mr. D and I will be doing some research to see. For now though, I think you three should go to lunch. I'm sure you're hungry."

Just then the conch shell sounded across camp, and a din of excited chatters drowned out the end of Chiron's sentence. So I nodded and, accompanied by Annabeth and Grover, went down to the open-roofed pavilion where pita, olive oil and vinegar were being laid out next to heaps of ribs and chicken. I was surprised how much food they'd prepared, until I saw the crowd coming to the dining tables. Almost everyone had stayed at camp: Clarisse, Beckendorf, the Stoll brothers…I guess people are really scared at the news of Typhon stirring, and of course our recent battle.

Grover went to sit with the rest of the satyrs, Annabeth to the Athena table, and I sat by myself at the Poseidon table. Just like old times, I thought ruefully. Tyson was still with Briares underwater at my dad's forges. I knew it was childish, but I was still a little peeved that my dad had never invited me to come underwater. But not as much as before: I still remembered very clearly my birthday party (was it really only yesterday?) when dad told me I was his favorite son. I smiled as I scraped off a quarter of my meal into the brazier.

"Poseidon." _Please Dad, I really need some help for this quest. _Hopefully he wasn't too busy to hear me. I resumed my seat at my table and just as I touched the seat, a bunch of people started screaming at once.


	3. I Reunite with a Lost Friend

Chapter Three: I Reunite With a Lost Friend

"They're here again?!" said Athena's and Hephaestus's cabins.

"Who invited _them_?" squealed several of Aphrodite's kids in obvious resentment.

"The Hunters are back! Finally, a challenging fight!" exclaimed some kid from the Ares table.

"Artemis, I love you!" (Grover and the other satyrs said this, of course.)

People of all different cabins and species were bellowing their assent or (more often) revolt. Past the pine tree that used to be Thalia, the Hunters stood tall with their chins up and arrows slung on their backs. With all of the Hunters clustered together, it was as if an aura of moonlit silver steam emanated from the pack of young maidens from all sides. Apollo's sun chariot disguised as a tour bus now ("Eclipse Air Tours!") was parked behind the group, with none other than Apollo leaning against the hood.

Chiron and Mr. D seemingly appeared next to me, having come to the pavilion after hearing all the commotion caused by the arrival of the Hunters.

"I think this is a sign," said Chiron, staring in the direction of the Hunters.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Take the Hunters on the quest?"

"Precisely," he replied. He turned to face me. I was about to ask who else I should take, when he said, "For the last person, I believe you should use the mortal girl who helped you through the maze. What was her name…Miss Dare? She was granted some of Pan's power too, was she not? She might prove useful."

"The mortal girl?" said Mr. D, showing moderate interest in the conversation for the first time.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth said, seeming rather irritated.

"Yes," said Chiron shortly.

"So, you're saying I should bring a Hunter, Annabeth, and Rachel Dare?" I said.

"Yes," said Chiron.

"This is going to be fun," I muttered.

"Everybody, SHUT UP or I will roast you into oblivion!" yelled Mr. D, his voice like thunder above the camp's noise.

"Please, Mr. D, no death threats today," said Chiron wearily. After a while the camp eventually calmed down to a quiet chatter among the campers. You didn't want to mess with gods in general, but Mr. D could drive you insane if he wanted.

Chiron spoke from the staff table. "Boys and girls, now seems an appropriate time to announce that Percy Jackson has been given a quest."

This was greeted with cheers from most tables, but a couple of cabins (Ares included) _booed_ at this new revelation.

"He will be taking one demigod, a Hunter and a mortal on his quest to save, well, the Western Civilization," said Chiron.

"He's always stealing the spotlight!" shouted a guy from Apollo. Screams of agreement came from other tables.

"Yeah, why does he get all the glory?" said an older girl, about seventeen.

"He shouldn't even have been born!"

Suddenly Annabeth stood up on the Athena table. "Everyone! _Di immortales!_ This quest is meant for Percy and you know it. If any of you had this quest, I'd sure be worried about the earth's survival!" Then she sat down, and I smiled. That was one of the best things about Annabeth: she was always loyal to her friends.

"Thank you, Annabeth," said a flustered-looking Chiron. His voice carried easily over the now silent grounds. "As I was saying, a prophecy Percy received earlier states that he and his companions will go to the modern-day Miletus to find Thales, the first Sage. It is said by the Oracle that Thales is the key to beating Kronos."

"Yeah, let's whip some Titan butt!" said Charles Beckendorf. A couple of his friends at the Hephaestus table whooped and laughed.

Chiron smiled briefly but waved down the noise.

"So where is this modern-day Miletus?" asked someone, voicing a question I was about to ask myself.

"37°N, 73.5°W."

The coordinates stirred something inside me. I felt the familiar sensation I usually had after summoning a few gallons of water, that echoing soreness in the pit of my stomach. That place had old magic in it, very powerful.

"Thales is hiding in Atlantis?" I asked Chiron.

He looked at me, wide eyed. "It's Atlantis?" he asked. I stared, amazed that I had been able to sense Atlantis just by saying the degrees of latitude of longitude. Chiron had thought that it was just a randomly sunken city that became Miletus. "I suppose that makes sense though," said Chiron, suddenly fervent. "All the wrecks in that area must be a result of some sort of defense Atlantis has to prevent being discovered…but it was destroyed," he said.

"Well, maybe it survived, it's just underwater," I said.

"So Percy," a girl called out. "Which of us is going with you?"

I was stunned. Annabeth looked up and her mouth opened in shock. "Thalia!"


	4. We Hitch a Ride with the Sun God

Chapter Four: We Hitch a Ride with the Sun God

To say it was strange seeing the transformation of Thalia after a year with the Hunters would be a huge understatement. She had lost her rebel-spirit look, and now wore the same jeans and neat silver jacket as everyone else in the group. Her hair was smooth and natural, and she had a glow like the rest. Of course, she didn't look any older because she wasn't any older. She was immortal now.

"Hi, Percy. Not as scrawny as I remember you being," she said. She seemed more comfortable around me than the rest of the maidens. Maybe because she'd known me before she took the pledge.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. Annabeth ran up to Thalia and gave her a hug.

"I missed you, Thalia," she said.

"Missed you too, Annabeth," she replied.

"All right, all right, break it up," said Mr. D, striding forward. "We'll have time for mushy reunions later. Or maybe we won't. I prefer the second option. So, Perry Johansson or Peter Johnson or whatever your name is, who are your choices?"

Chiron interrupted before I could reply. "Oh, and whoever is chosen, remember: great danger is prophesized, and one may not come back. So proceed on the quest with caution. Sorry, Percy, continue please."

I took a deep breath. "Annabeth?"

"Definitely," she said.

"Thalia?"

"Yes." She smiled.

"Then that's settled!" said Chiron, smiling. "Percy, you can go back to Manhattan and ask Rachel if she wants to come with you and then get started on your quest. Good luck, and may the gods be with you," he said solemnly.

"Thanks," I said quietly. I was trying to hide the fact that I was terrified out of my wits, but I think that Annabeth might've been able to see through it. Grover surely could.

"What if Rachel doesn't want to go?" said Annabeth, sounding kind of hopeful. It was a false hope. Rachel would never miss this chance.

"Then we'll work something out…you can always take another Hunter or Mrs. O'Leary," said Chiron.

"Come on," said Apollo, "If you want a ride we have to get going before sundown!"

"Still think Apollo is hot?" I teased Thalia. It would be funny to compare her reaction now to before she was a Hunter.

"Yes," she said, and for a moment I was wondering if she was really a Hunter. Then she said, "But he's the _sun god_. Of course he's hot." I relaxed after that.

I got into the shotgun seat of the car (now transformed back into the Maserati Spyder), looking wistfully at the joystick/steering wheel. Behind me, I heard Artemis yelling at her brother:

"If my Hunter comes back and reports you so much as looking at her during the duration of the trip, I will personally shoot you with an arrow! No flirting with my Hunter, no wooing my Hunter!"

I turned around; Thalia was grinning in the back seat of the car at Artemis threatening her twin brother. Annabeth was turned around like me, watching the fight.

"Okay, okay, I won't! Hey Thalia honey, you trust me, don't you?" asked Apollo.

"What did I just say? And no nicknames either, that reminds me." She notched a silver arrow and aimed it at Apollo's chest. "Get in the car before I shoot you."

"Calm down, sis, I'm going," he said, returning to the car. We all faced forward again, my eyes returning to the driver's seat. Apollo sat in the car and seemed to sense the direction of my gaze.

"Hey, Percy, you want to drive?" he asked, smiling mischievously.

"But…I don't have lessons until fall," I said.

"Hey, that's okay. Nobody else has to know," he winked.

I hesitated. "Okay," I said finally.

He got out of the car and I scooted over the armrest to the driver's seat. Apollo sat in the passenger's seat. One look in the rearview mirror told me that becoming a member of the Hunters hadn't gotten rid of Thalia's fear of heights. Her eyes were wide, and sparks were coming out of her fingertips, clenched tight over the leather seat.

The sun chariot was very similar to a regular car, except of course it was solar-powered, and had an ultra-powerful air conditioner (no heater). I turned the key in the ignition, and the engine purred in a way that would make a racecar jealous. I glanced in the rearview mirror again: I could see the Hunters watching us and Thalia's face turning green. Annabeth looked slightly nervous, but eager too. I pulled the joystick back gently and the sun chariot reared up like an agitated stallion. And speaking of horses, I could hear the Blackjack and the other pegasi in the nearby stables, shouting at me in their heads.

_Yo, boss! What are you thinking? The silver girl's dad is gonna blast you outta the sky if you're not careful!_

_Lord! Lord! Be careful!_

Apollo laughed. "Those pegasi are really upset," he said.

"Yeah," I said. Then I thought to the pegasi: _Relax! I'll be fine! I doubt that Zeus is going to send lightning bolts at a car with his daughter inside._

_If you really think so, boss…_

Apollo laughed again. I leveled the Spyder slightly so we were at a more relaxed angle, and pushed the joystick forward to gain speed. I whooped. Annabeth screamed in fear or exhilaration, I wasn't sure. Thalia gritted her teeth so tightly together I was worried they would shatter. Beside me Apollo was beaming in a way that put the sun we were carrying to shame. My face was stretched as we gained speed, like in those zero-g simulations at NASA to train astronauts.

"You're a natural at this, Percy!" shouted Apollo over the roar of the wind and the engine.

"Thanks!"

"I'm really glad you survived, Percy," he said very seriously.

"Me, too!" I laughed. _Let's just hope it goes as well this time around…_The thought was directed toward Apollo. _Do you see anything good in the future?_

_I can't tell you that_, his voice sounded in my head, and I could practically hear his wicked smile. _But I can advise you to take advantage of what Aphrodite told you before it's too late._

_What…?!_

_You know what I'm talking about_.

_No offense, but gods are very nosy about my business,_ I grumbled mentally.

_Yeah, Aphrodite was practically drooling during the incident at Mount St. Helens._ I grimaced inwardly and looked out at the land below. But I couldn't block the thoughts going through my mind now. I wish what Aphrodite had said was true, that Annabeth really did want to be close. But after finding out Luke was Kronos, she'd been pretty much avoiding me for the most part. She hadn't said anything directly to me since I'd gotten to camp.

I glanced back at Annabeth, and she met my eyes. I smiled a little, and then sighed when she looked away. I could sense Apollo staring at me with pity.

I pushed the sun chariot harder, until the light of the sun chariot reflected off the skyscrapers of Manhattan. I slowed, tilting the joystick to the right toward Upper East Side. I had to remember not to fly too low as I was in danger of catching something on fire.

"Where do I land? I don't know where she lives," I said.

"Keep going in this direction," Apollo said. He was silent for a while. Then: "Here!" I pulled up sharply and twisted the Spyder around, doing a donut with the car in midair.

"Where do I land?" I asked.

"Over here, in this field to the left." I landed where he asked, swiveling the joystick back and forth, burning an oval of grass to cinders in the process. Thalia stumbled out of the car faster than the lightning she threw. Annabeth and I followed after, with Apollo getting out last.

"Follow me please," said Apollo, practically bouncing in his haste to meet "the mysterious mortal who hit Kronos in the eye with a hairbrush." I was sure he heard about that incident up on Olympus.

After a few blocks of honking cars, people waving down taxis, and fat construction workers smoking and hooting at female passersby, we reached Rachel's house, a two-story building painted cream with a veranda. It was located on the edge of the city, inching into the suburbs with its upper-income and cookie-cutter townhouse neighborhoods. I went up to the door and used the brass knocker to rap the door three times.

I saw a pale face surrounded by dark red hair pop around the curtain behind the windows on each side of the door. I smiled at her, and her face lit up. She opened the door and came out, giving me a hug. I felt kind of awkward, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Uh, Rachel…" I fidgeted a little and my face was bright red. She let go, and laughed at my pained expression. Then she spotted Annabeth, Thalia and Apollo and became serious.

"Oh, she's here…are we going on another trip through the Labyrinth?" she asked.

"Not exactly…" I started. Annabeth was looking at us with something like murder in her eyes. I wonder what she was so furious about. Thalia's eyebrows were raised as she surveyed Annabeth. Luckily Apollo took over for me, telling Rachel about my quest.

"So, are you a Half-Blood, too? Are you like, Percy's brother or something?" Rachel asked Apollo.

"No, he's my cousin, Apollo," I said, grinning before I could stop myself.


	5. Helios Speedboat

Chapter Five: Helios Speedboat

Rachel's eyes widened and she looked at Apollo. "Hi, Lord Apollo—I'm a big fan. I love the sun!" Annabeth rolled her eyes at Rachel. Then looked at Thalia with an expression that said: _Here's the idiot I was stuck with on the last quest._ Why was she being so rude? It was like the Labyrinth all over again. I remembered something Rachel had said last time she acted this way. Something like: _"Boys. So blind."_ What had she meant?

"Thanks," said Apollo.

"So, Rachel," I asked. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Yes! Should I pack?" she asked.

"Um, I think you should be fine. None of the rest of us brought anything extra," I said.

"Oh, yeah," said Apollo. "That reminds me. Here's the key to my old sun ship," he said, tossing me a key.

"Sun ship?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, before the sun chariot, I used the sun ship. You know, sun breaking the horizon…anyway, it was too much of a hassle to make the sun rise when you had to stay down in the water. It should ride okay, but it hasn't been checked in a while so don't expect any top-of-the-line race boat." He winked at me.

"I'm sure I'll manage," I said.

"What? I don't get it. What's so funny?" Rachel said.

"Oh yeah—I'd forgotten I never told you who my god parent was. You'll find out soon enough." I smiled at Annabeth and this time the smile was returned. I turned to the sun god. "So where're we going to find the boat?"

"Gemini Docking Station," he said, smiling. I'll drive you guys there. I hope one of you doesn't mind using the middle seat in the back." Rachel shrugged.

"Sure," she volunteered.

So Rachel was squeezed in between Thalia and me (Apollo had wanted Thalia to sit next to him on the ride back, but when Thalia reached for her quiver, he'd backtracked and asked Annabeth instead—smart move.). Rachel clutched my arm like a vise for the entirety of the ten-minute ride. When we landed, I rubbed my arm, wondering vaguely if it would bruise.

The docking pier was freshly stained with rows upon rows of motorboats, yachts and other vessels (all extremely expensive-looking). Apollo pointed us to a beautifully crafted streamline powerboat with the words _Helios Speedboat_ painted on the stern

"This is mediocre?" I said. "You lent us a speedboat!"

"Calm down, Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, though she was pretty openly gaping, as were the others. "We don't want you to start spouting sea foam."

"Thanks, Apollo!" I said.

"Yes, thank you, Lord Apollo," said the others.

"No problem. I know you can drive it, just make sure the sun-towing cables are retracted. You shouldn't call too much attention with it, seeing as the sun's already on my chariot," said Apollo. "But before I go: I feel a Haiku coming on!" Thalia and I grimaced, having experienced the teenage god's Haikus before.

"_A sun boat for you_

_Be careful everybody_

_Don't scratch the speedboat!"_

"Well, I have to go do sunrise in the Eastern Hemisphere, so see you later." He smiled and waved. We waved good-bye back.

Then Apollo took off into the sky and curved slowly over the horizon, making the sun set for the night.

"Climb aboard," I said, ushering them onto the yacht.

"You can steer a boat?" said Rachel.

"Yes, I can steer a boat," I said, grinning. "My god parent is Poseidon, Lord of the Sea.

"Oh," she said. "Okay, then. Let's get going."

I untied the boat and pulled away from the dock, hitting eighty knots before we were fifty feet away. Instead of sitting in the driver's seat, I chose to walk around the deck, using my powers to speed us away from the pier. Eventually, I set the speedboat to go at about one hundred ten knots. I felt so at home here, in the sea—content. Just like on the journey to the Sea of Monsters, I had perfect bearings on our location.

When my other passengers started looking a little green, I opted to try something: I went up to Annabeth and asked, "Can I test an idea I have? Maybe I can stop the seasickness."

She nodded mutely, looking miserable. I put my hands on her shoulders and closed my eyes, concentrating. I tried to visualize Annabeth healthy, able to stand firm on the deck without getting dizzy… "Percy. I'm better," Annabeth said in a surprised voice. I opened my eyes. "How…?"

"I don't know, I just sort of visualized it and…"

She shook her head. "It's just like in the Sea of Monsters, when you were discovering all those new powers," she said in an amazed tone. I wanted to stay there, staring into her gray eyes, the color of the ocean during a storm, but then Rachel spoke:

"Can you get rid of my seasickness too, Percy?" she groaned.

"Yeah, I'll be right over," I said, kind of annoyed she had interrupted. "I'll be right back," I told Annabeth.

"Sure," she said, kind of agitatedly.

I cured Rachel and Thalia's seasickness, and their sickly green coloring changed back to a pale peach. Then I went back over to Annabeth, who was sitting on her knees on a chair facing the opposite way, looking out at the Atlantic, which was swathed in nighttime shadow.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," said Annabeth. With the seasickness gone, she looked more than healthy. She looked radiant. I sat next to her, assuming the same position facing the sea. Thalia was shivering, bundling her life preserver vest tightly around her. The darkness grew until it was almost pitch black, but I could see everything around me, my senses at their most sensitive, nerve endings stretched taut.

First Rachel fell asleep, then Thalia. We were still going at about a hundred knots, and I was itching to go faster, but I knew that the wind would probably bother the others too much—Thalia had been shivering at one hundred ten knots, let alone one-fifty or faster.

Annabeth looked at me in confusion. "Aren't you tired at all?" she asked softly. Her eyelids were beginning to droop.

"No," I said. "I feel wide awake actually."

"Hmm," she said, turning around so she was seated normally in her seat. I copied her. "That's better. I was starting to feel kind of sore."

I knew that another chance like this probably wouldn't come again for a while. Thalia and Rachel were asleep, so we were practically all alone in the dark. I knew I had to follow Apollo's advice now.

"Annabeth?" I said.

"Hmm?"

"You know how when you got captured, Bianca was killed in New Mexico?" I asked.

She was more aware now. "Yeah," she said.

"Well, before that happened, Ares and Aphrodite came to where we were."

She picked up on the infamous meddler's name: "Aphrodite?" she asked. "Why was she there?"

She must see this coming, I thought. Why do I have to say it? But I kept going. "She wanted to talk to me…about you. She said that I…" I had to force it out— "That I loved you. And now I know…that it's true."

She looked at me, and for a while I was worried that Aphrodite was wrong and that Annabeth didn't love me back, but then she said, almost inaudibly, "I love you too, Percy." And then I kissed her, and in that moment I was more grateful that I had left Calypso's island than I'd ever been.


	6. We Battle the Demented Whale of Doom

Chapter Six: We Battle the Demented Whale of Doom

Annabeth slept with her head in my lap as I stayed awake throughout the night, stroking her golden-blonde curls. I watched the sun rise and wondered if Apollo saw us from where he sat in the sun chariot. I waved just in case. Thalia had been up since, a habit learned by Hunters from waking up at the crack of dawn every day. Thalia polished her arrows, and looked at Annabeth and me in distaste before going below deck. I guess she wasn't as comfortable around me as I thought. After a couple more hours Annabeth started to stir, and as she sat up and stretched, I wondered what the gods made of last night. Not that I really cared anymore. I just hope that Athena doesn't decide to kill me in my sleep.

We were all pretty much silent, but it was a peaceful quiet. After a while I sensed a powerful presence in the ocean and slowed the speedboat to about twenty knots. "Do you see it?" Annabeth asked, as Thalia came above deck at the sudden change in speed.

"No, but I can feel it," I said. "Right now we're at 36°58'N, 73.5°W. Just another two minutes East and we should be right above the center of Atlantis."

A little while later, Rachel finally woke up. She twisted, cracking her back. "Is there any water on board?" she asked.

"Oh, uh," I thought about it. "I doubt it, gods drink nectar. But I'll check." I went below deck and tried to use my powers to feel where the freshwater was hidden, if there was any. Of course, as my luck went, there was none. I was on the stairs back up to the upper deck when I heard someone scream; it sounded like Annabeth. I ran the rest of the way up the narrow steps, knocking into the walls on either side as our boat was tossed about. Water splashed around my ankles, and I knew the boat was flooding.

When I returned above deck, I saw Thalia shooting a giant serpentine fish in the eye, but for some reason, the arrows were shattering into thousands of splinters on contact.

"What is it?" I yelled, uncapping Riptide.

"Ceto, mother of the Phorcydes!" answered Annabeth, trying to stab the monster's scaly tail. I recalled my lessons on the monster Ceto: she was the daughter of Pontus and Gaia, and was said to be the dangers of the sea, bizarre mutant creatures and unknown terrors combined. She and her husband Phorcys gave birth to a group of monsters called the Phorcydes, which consist of the Gorgons, Ladon the dragon, and the Graeae (the ladies that drive the Gray Sisters Taxi) to name a few. While I was remembering these facts, I swung Riptide in a downward arc, only to have it bounce back. That only seemed to make Ceto madder. She crashed into the starboard side of the boat with her tail so we had to hang on to the port side as it tipped, scattering debris through the air. One hit me in the face and made a slash underneath my eye. Ceto's scales were like an armor, to be able to deflect Riptide without leaving so much as a dent. And there must have been a screen on her eye that had caused Thalia's arrows to break. No wonder this thing was the guard to Atlantis—Atlantis, created by my dad, which used to be ruled by his son the Titan Atlas before the latter was condemned to hold the sky (A curse which I had to endure for a while about a year ago…let me tell you, it isn't fun.). I wonder how Thales got past this thing…and how he was breathing down there. I guess I would find out if he had done either soon enough.

I bore down at an angle, trying to find a chink in the fish's armor. "Hit her under the scales!" I shouted to Annabeth and Thalia. As a skilled Hunter, Thalia was able to get at least two into her target (which is a pretty impressive feat considering Ceto's thrashing), just as Annabeth and I stabbed under another two of the sea monster's head-sized body plates. Ceto shrieked and it was a sound like nails on a blackboard, a thousand times magnified. Then she dissolved into a pool of sand on the surface of the ocean. The intensity of Ceto's dust cloud was great enough to blow us off of the remainder of the boat. Freshly energized by the sea, I was the only one who wasn't breathing heavily as we bobbed in the water (well, _they _bobbed in their life vests while I floated vertical) and put away our weapons.

Rachel had been wedged in a corner of the boat throughout the fight, but now she spoke, her voice unsteady.

"Wow," she said. "You were really brave." She looked at me when she said this, though I was no braver than Thalia or Annabeth. Just kind of stupid sometimes…ADHD can make people do things like that.

"Not really," I said as I watched the speedboat sinking. I remembered Apollo's Haiku and groaned, wiping the dried blood off my cheek—though the cut should've needed stitches, it had healed after we'd been thrown into the water.

"What is it, Percy?" asked Annabeth. I smiled wryly.

"Nothing…it's just, do you remember what Apollo said about the boat?"

Her forehead crumpled as she comprehended this new issue. "Oh," she said. She looked up. "Well, hopefully the fact that you're a favorite of Apollo will save you." I was confused.

"What do you mean?" I said. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure that Apollo just lets anyone borrow his sun vehicles," said Annabeth sarcastically. The sarcasm didn't hurt as much though as usual.

I considered this and had to admit to myself that maybe Apollo _had _paid a bit more attention to me than the others. But I dismissed the thought: we had a job to do. "Come on, we have to go down there sometime." The other three unclasped their vests and we began to swim downward.

I willed the currents to speed us deeper, creating a pocket of condensed air bubbles for my friends. Thalia stuck her head in and spoke:

"Do you see it?"

I shook my head. "Not yet." I breathed at an even rate as we sliced through the water. I had to remember that most people couldn't go as far down as I could at the risk of crumpling like one of Grover's tin cans. I did my best to equalize some of the pressure around them. "You guys feeling okay? I'm not the best judge of water pressure."

Annabeth held up the "okay" sign, her index finger and thumb curling together. Rachel nodded and Thalia followed suit. I continued down, creating a shield around them to protect them from the force of the surrounding salt-water. When I spotted the crystalline dome that could only be Atlantis I shot forward like a torpedo, leaving a cyclone of spiraling bubbles in my wake. Willing the others to be dragged along behind me, I heard Rachel and Annabeth screaming at the top of their lungs.

I stopped at the front entrance, a pristine set of doors which had been preserved over time by Poseidon's magic. Up close, I studied the door on which a mural of Poseidon was embossed. Hanging from a leather thong in the painting was a large sand dollar. My dad had given me a sand dollar for my birthday, saying that it would be worth something in the right situation. Is this what he had meant? I reached into my back pocket where I'd been stowing it and held it up against the door; a perfect match. I pressed the sand dollar in its socket and the door began to glow. The iridescent light cast multicolored shadows on anything within a ten-food radius. The door melted in a rainbow of candle wax, and made way for a cavernous foyer the size of Olympus's throne room.


	7. AN & Book Recommendations

**A/N: I'm so sorry you guys! I know I've kept you waiting, but I've been really busy with all the projects at school. And sorry too that you came here thinking I had a new chapter up; but I promise I'm almost done with my next chapter. So just wait a while longer and reread the Percy Jackson series in preparation for Riordan's next book (that is sure to kick mine's butt) which is coming out May 5****th****!**

**I wish it was March 5****th**** that it was released, I know, but here's some recommendations to keep you occupied until then:**

**-Artemis Fowl series**

**-Alex Rider series**

**-Short stories by Rick Riordan (the Stolen Chariot, the Bronze Dragon, and The Sword of Hades that is found inside a little extra thing Riordan wrote called The Demigod Files)**

**-The Hunger Games**

**-Twilight**

**-The Host**

**-Gregor the Overlander (haven't read it, but I've heard it's good, and it's by the same author as The Hunger Games, which I love)**

**-The Supernaturalist (again, haven't read it, but it looks interesting)**

**Good luck in your reading!**

**~percabethshipper**


	8. Geometry and Pie

Chapter Seven: Geometry and Pie

Upon entering, a set of glass doors blocked our advance as the outer doors reformed. The glass was so clear that I hadn't noticed it until I'd ran straight into it, much to the entertainment of Annabeth, Rachel and Thalia, though Thalia didn't laugh so much as shake her head and smirk. I could practically hear her thinking, _Boys… _

The water drained from our chamber as if we were inside some kind of giant bathtub, causing the girls' bubble to disappear with a _pop!_ When the glass sliding doors retracted into the walls, we continued onward—more cautiously this time—and caught our breath at the sight of the room before us.

Life-sized statues of Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite dominated most of the floor, which was made up of tons of those phosphorescent pebbles you find at the bottom of fish tanks. Speaking of fish and what you find in their tanks, I've heard that they really appreciate some added décor every now and then. It can get pretty boring inside a Plexiglas prison, you know. I've also dissuaded a few goldfish from trying to get flushed down the toilet…All drains do not lead to the ocean—that Nemo movie is so wrong it's unbelievable.

Anyway, Annabeth and I went down a left-hand passageway, and Rachel and Thalia went down the opposite hall. Rachel had wanted to go with me for some reason, but when I saw Annabeth's baleful glare, I decided to decline. There's no need to be stabbed by Annabeth for whatever reason, after finally making amends.

We explored each room one after another. All the doors were identical, with silver door-handles and roughly painted wave designs. All the rooms held a jiggling water bed (salt-water, of course) and a simple driftwood nightstand. Eventually we found the room we were looking for. While the furniture inside was the same, the nightstand was slightly varied. On its surface the Greek letter Mu was carved. "Mu" was the Greek letter for the English "m", for Miletus, Thales's birthplace.

Annabeth and I approached the dresser studied it, though Annabeth was looking at it minutely while I was thinking more like, "I'm hungry. Can we hurry up and get this thing open so I can get a burger before McDonald's closes?"

Annabeth reached for the knob of the drawer and pulled gently. Then she pulled harder. Then harder still, only for it to remain obstinately shut. "My gods! We kill treacherous monsters and climb rock walls that spit out lava, and I can't even open a drawer! Ugh!" she sat on the bed angrily, causing it to bounce her so she had to hold onto the edge. I would've laughed if she hadn't been so furious.

"I'll try," I said, rather unnecessarily, as she could see what I was doing. I barely tugged on the drawer when it popped open. Annabeth started, surprised, then calmed.

"Must be some sort of defense—only an Atlantian or one of Poseidon's bloodline can open it," she said logically.

"Must be," I said absently, peering inside the dark drawer. I didn't see anything, so I yanked the entire drawer out and set it on the floor, angling it toward the light. I saw all the way to the back wall of the drawer, nothing but dust coating a faint label stuck to the inside of the drawer. Desperate, I reached inside, groping the walls, turning it upside down and shaking it violently, wishing that I hadn't been too late.

"I can't believe this!" I shouted, frustrated and disheartened. How could the Oracle have been wrong? "I thought that prophecies were always true…" I trailed off hopelessly. Annabeth rose from the waterbed and studied the drawer closely, using her hands to wipe of some of the grime lining the inside.

"Look at this," she said quietly, almost thinking aloud. I grew curious despite myself.

"What?"

"This marking on the inside…" I looked closely, only to see the label I'd noticed earlier. Except when I really paid attention, I could see that it was really a circle with a line going straight down the middle.

"I don't get it, what's that supposed to be? It's just like, the little 'Made in China' stickers that mortals put on everything, right?" I said.

Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain, it's a depiction of the diameter of a circle. Diameter, the thing that splits a circle down its center, that you multiply by pi to get the circumference, you know…?"

"How can you multiply something by pie?" I said.

She stared at me in disbelief. "Do you _ever_ read the books in the Big House? At all? Or even try to listen in school?"

I shrugged. "I've checked out Mr. D's library a couple times before, but I really don't think I would enjoy an Ancient Greek translation of _The Grapes of Wrath_. And now that I think of it, why does Mr. D even _own_ that book? It doesn't even have anything to do with grapes!"

Annabeth just shook her head. "Never mind, Seaweed Brain, let's just get on with this." She lifted a finger, ready to reach in the drawer again, when she thought better of it. "Actually, I think _you_ should do this part. I really doubt your dad would be too happy about a child of Athena scratching Atlantian furniture." She smiled.

"Okay…what do I do?" I asked.

"Just, run your finger down the line or something…I don't know." She seemed unsure, a rare quality in a child of Athena. But I knew better than to tease her about her doubts. I ran a finger down the narrow, chiseled rut in the center of the circle, almost like the Prime Meridian on a model globe (Pretty much one of the only things from school I can remember, since it has to do with latitude and longitude.). The wood cracked down the center, and crumbled away to reveal a hidden compartment.

"Whoa." I could feel Annabeth's light, lemony breath on the back of my neck, and it distracted me, causing goose bumps all down my spine. She stared intently at the pulsating object. All I could do was to stare at her out of the corner of my eye.

"It's a _Mos Complector_," she said, in obvious awe. I stared at it dumbly.

"A what?"

She looked at me sharply. "A Customer Compass, Seaweed Brain. Hermes created it decades ago so he could find a recipient, no matter where they were. This Compass would find someone whether they were underground or on another planet. It's kind of finicky though, because sometimes there are people who share a name. So you have to be really specific."

"So, if it's supposed to belong to Hermes…why did Thales have it then?"

She sighed. "That's it…it doesn't make any sense. Didn't the prophecy say he would be down here?"

I fidgeted. "Not exactly, I guess. I guess we just had to come here to find the _way_ to find Thales."

She sighed again. "Why can't these quests ever just be straightforward; 'Go here, ask him a question, do what he says, complete the mission'?"

"Well, since when has either of our lives been simple?" She smiled wryly and I smirked.

"Come on," she breathed, "Let's go get Thalia and Rachel" —her mouth twisted around the name— "and give this compass a try."

***

"So we just say who we want to find and it'll show us where to go? Oh my gods, oh my gods, that's so cool!" Rachel's voice got higher as she grew more excited.

Meanwhile, Annabeth looked like she'd just licked a lemon. "That's a bit of a oversimplification, but yes, that's the theory." I didn't understand why she was so bitter. Rachel's idea seemed pretty correct to me. But whatever…maybe Annabeth would never be able to accept that we were getting help from a mortal **(A/N: *Cough* Yeah, right, like that's the only reason!)**.

Thalia was all business. I was really getting sick of her whole Huntress attitude. "Well, let's get this show on the road. Annabeth, you can do the honors." She didn't even glance in my direction as she said this.

"Okay…" Annabeth said unsteadily. She blew out a gust of choppy air and lowered her face to the blazing bronze ball. "Thales of Miletus, first of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece, demigod son of Apollo; Customer's Compass, show us where he abides."

The compass clicked, and a lid appeared on the top, which opened, releasing what seemed like all the wind in the world. It gusted about us, lifting us off our feet and sucking us into the compass, defying the laws of science and transporting us to a world unknown.

**A/N: Oooh, another cliffie. I know you just **_**love**_** these. Stay tuned for more of Percy's quest!**


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